The Dragonaires
by Fire Princess21
Summary: AU. Hitsugaya Toushiro was a Dragonnaire, one of the accursed ones humans have tried to kill for years. Hitako Sayuri was a Dragonnaire slayer, sworn to avenge her family. When these two meet, what will happen? Especially when a secret is unfolded?


Hello! It's me again, Fire Princess21. I deleted my first work because according to my first review, it was already obvious who the real protagonist was so I had to delete it. I couldn't edit it, unfortunately. Besides, I guarantee that you'll like this piece much better. If you're into adventure, that is. Anyway, this contains Hitsugaya and all the other characters from Bleach (obviously, hehe… couldn't resist adding that one!). I really hope you like this one though no HitsuHina pairing here. So technically, this is my first fanfic again. Enjoy!

The Dragonaires

By: Fire Princess21

Chapter 1: First Encounter

Crouching below in the shrubs in the forest, Hitako Sayuri kept herself hidden. She pointed her arrow in the bird's direction, careful not to make a sound. Following the bird with her eyes, she stretched the bowstring as far as it would go, then, she released it.

It sailed straight through the air, piercing the bird on target. She smiled widely as the bird fell to the ground. Target! Now she would be sure to get her master's approval. Hurriedly, she ran to the place where she expected the bird to have fallen- in the clearing. Just as she reached it, however, she stopped in her tracks, not leaving the shade of the trees. She inspected her surroundings.

The bird was indeed there, on the grass field. But her master was not. It was strange considering that her master, Yoruichi, would have already beaten her there and would be examining her catch of the day. But there was no trace of the cat woman anywhere. She smiled faintly. It must be another test, she concluded. Just as she picked up her catch would Yoruichi appear and no doubt ambush her. She was the only person who could sneak up on her and being the Goddess of Flash, it would be no use to outrun her. She left her arrows and bow there, on the grass floor, and crossed the clearing slowly, measuring her step. This was a test of her awareness to her surroundings and to see if she could catch adversaries who were coward enough to creep on her back. For a second, she thought her master was just taking a leisurely walk, letting her enjoy the victory before she bombarded her with endless pain-induced training sessions with a blade. But that was not how Yoruichi acted.

Slowly and cautiously still, she picked up her catch by the feet and began turning it sideways. She almost smiled when she heard the rustle of leaves though there was no breeze. She was indeed here.

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Yoruichi watched as the bird fell from the sky like a shooting star. Then she saw Sayuri run to where it had fallen. Yoruichi smiled slowly. She had reached the field in a matter of seconds, a record timing.

It had only been two years before when she had come to her and Urahara Kisuke, asking to be trained. Begging, in fact. She said she wanted to become the best Dragonaire Slayer. When she was asked why, she merely replied that the wretched beasts had taken everything away from her. Her life, her family, her belongings… they had all been reduced to ashes- as the town people had narrated to her afterwards since she had been but a toddler when it happened.

Accompanying her was her uncle, Etsuki, who had cared for the child for most of her seventeen years in existence. He had been a quiet man, only silently restraining her niece to attempt to release her vengeance on the dragonaires that killed her parents. At first, they refused. But when they saw the burning determination in the child's eyes, they had to agree. Her uncle had been none too happy about it.

Though he had taught her to forget her past and live the present, and never think about revenge, she still persisted. She had the mind of a genius and the senses of a sharp predator. Her skills alone were impressive, driven by the desire to avenge her family's death. Her uncle tried to talk her out of her crazy revenge but she would not change her mind. Thinking back, Yoruichi had admired the child's defiance.

"I am not going to just sit here and wait for death to come while doing _nothing_ about my family's death. I will avenge them and no one will stop me." She had said, her eyes looking straight at Etsuki, meaning for her uncle not to argue with her. The man had sighed and shook his head, but said nothing more.

Yoruichi smiled her cat-like smile. She sped through the trees and drew out her sword as she ran. She was silent and untraceable, of that she was sure. Yet when she was just about to strike Sayuri's unsuspecting back, she suddenly disappeared from her line of view. Yoruichi turned around just before Sayuri cut her with her blade from behind, deflecting her attack.

"She managed to master her shunpo." Yoruichi muttered as Sayuri disappeared again. Yoruichi simply jumped back and avoided the blade that was about to pierce her and aimed a kick at Sayuri's stomach. She saw a slight smirk in the child's features before she used her feet to jump and spin over her foot. She landed gracefully a few feet away from Yoruichi.

I've got to hand it to you, kid. You're getting better." Yoruichi commented, smiling. Sayuri smiled back. "Only from the best teacher." She replied. Then, Yoruichi vanished, appearing behind Sayuri. "But not good enough." She said before she punched Sayuri on her back. Sayuri stumbled on the ground and was about to get up when Yoruichi pointed her sword at her throat. Yoruichi smirked.

"Looks like I win again, kid." Yoruichi said. But just as she said those words, Sayuri disappeared again and before Yoruichi could react, a blade was at her throat with Sayuri holding it from behind. "Not today." She whispered. Then, she let go and sheathed her sword before bowing. It was judgment time.

Yoruichi looked at her, apparently impressed. She scratched her head. "Well, what is there left to teach you? You already beat me today." She said, lazily. Sayuri's head snapped up.

"There are still a lot more to be taught, Yoruichi-sensei! Please don't give up on me." Sayuri pleaded. Yoruichi sighed.

"Kid, I told you: Call me Yoruichi. And you're already as good as I am. So it seems that you're in no need of a teacher. You're on your own now. I have imparted with you everything that I know. So from now on, you can call yourself a dragonaire slayer. Not that you've slayed any dragonaires yet, but you get my point."

"But sen-, I mean, Yoruichi! I don't think I'm ready yet." Sayuri protested. Yoruichi sighed again.

"Sayuri, your training is done. You are a capable warrior now and I doubt if anyone can defeat you so easily. Fighting can never be taught, it is an instinct of survival. Look at Kurosaki!" she said for emphasis. Sayuri smiled a bit.

Kurosaki Ichigo had also been trained by Urahara. The boy was a lethal weapon, if anything else. He relied on his power and skill as a swordsman alone. He may take things head-on but he was the best around. Sayuri finally nodded.

"I guess you're right about that, Yoruichi." She agreed slowly. Yoruichi smiled.

"That's the spirit! Now hurry on back to Urahara and tell him the good news. You're uncle is also there, waiting for your arrival. I have some things to take care of. See you later, kid. Also, congratulations on surviving my two years of training. You should be proud. No one has ever been able to do that." Yourichi said before using shunpo. Sayuri smiled as Yoruichi disappeared. She would have to thank Urahara later. Then she started to walk back to Urahara's. It was going to be a long trek home.

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Hitsugaya Toushiro watched the cat woman and the girl from a distance in the forest. He was so far away from them that even the cat woman couldn't sense his presence but he could hear and see everything just fine. After all, he had a dragon's eyes and ears. One of the advantages of being a dragonaire. A dragonaire was basically you're everyday flame-breathing dragon. It was huge; it had scales, and every attribute of a dragon. The only thing different about them was they could transform into humans. Of course, the humans didn't know about that; which proved to be useful since they didn't like to be attacked wherever they went. They were feared by humans and killed mostly because it was a sport to them but a dragonaire had once accidentally sneezed on a cottage, causing flames to erupt from its nose and set the cottage on fire. It was burned down easily.

And that was when the feud started.

The people got angry and since they couldn't reveal that they could transform into humans, they couldn't explain that it had been an accident. Since then, dragonaires and humans had been sworn enemies. What made them different from the normal dragons was that they had their own civilization, unlike the others, thus the name 'dragonaires'.

He smirked as the girl outsmarted her teacher. Very clever for a human, he thought then he turned on his heel and walked away. It was an inconvenience to walk when you could fly, the others had told him, but he preferred to walk. He didn't have to be careful that way.

He had been watching the girl for some time now, during the past year. Watching her improve and become stronger. For some reason, he was interested in this girl who hated dragonaires and yet had no courage to kill one. He had remembered their very first meeting…

He had seen her for a fleeting second, the first time she had come here to be trained. She had been riding on her horse, strolling around when by mistake, he happened to fly by her. She saw him at once, and quickly took her bow, on the pretense of shooting him when she paused. It would seem as if she was having an internal argument whether to kill a dragonaire or not. Their eyes met for a brief instant and he had felt the pure hatred surging from her. But she put her bow down and he had flown away. Puzzled by her reaction, he came to see her train each day as a human and observed her from afar.

Then it became a routine.

The others were skeptical, warning him that he could get killed but he didn't mind. As long as he could keep himself hidden, then it would be alright.

He decided to take a different route today, one that led to a spring since he was getting thirsty. It was a tiny place hidden among the many bushes and you'd have to be an explorer to find that particular spot. It was a place where he liked to rest for it was peaceful and quiet there. No one disturbed him. He was surprised, therefore, when he saw Sayuri, filling her jug with the spring water when he arrived. His first impulse was to walk away but she had heard him. Besides, he was human. The girl wouldn't know the difference. Slowly, he approached the spring and took out his own jug to fill. She smiled tentatively at him though he knew she was wary.

"Uh, hello! I'm sorry. I didn't know this was you're spot. I was under the impression this was a secluded area. I'm very sorry for trespassing." She said politely, almost shyly, as she stood up and bowed before she started to walk away.

"This isn't anyone's spot. You're free to do as you like." Toushiro told her, strangely not wanting her to leave. This was their first encounter as humans and he didn't want to waste the opportunity to unravel the mystery behind this girl. She turned around and smiled.

"Uh, thanks. I really didn't want to leave yet." She admitted, and sat down on the grass. She looked at this strange person who was alternately polite yet gave off a cold aura. He had white hair, teal eyes, tanned skin and was muscular. He looked to be about eighteen or somewhere near her age. She was sure she had never seen him before. He looked really handsome.

Toushiro looked at her, assessing her features. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail. Shoulder-length and dark brown hair, to be precise. Her eyes were a deep brown, almost black and she was tall, taller than him by perhaps a few inches. She had an oval face and wore rectangular glasses. How odd. She must be quite a bookworm, he thought. Then her voice broke his thoughts.

"Um, may I know what you're name is, sir?" she asked, politely.

He hesitated. Then, "Hitsugaya Toushiro." He replied nonchalantly.

"Mine is Hitako Sayuri. It's nice to meet you!" she said smiling and extended a hand for a shake. Toushiro stared at it until she let it drop. A look of hurt crossed her face for an instant, he wasn't too sure, but she replaced it at once with an authentic looking smile. He may be a cold person but she wasn't about to give up that easily.

"May I ask what you're doing here?" she asked him again. Toushiro looked at her before answering.

"Same as you are. I'm getting water from the spring." He replied.

"Are you a traveler or do you live nearby?"

"Why would you like to know? You ask too much questions for your own good."

"I'm sorry. I just can't help but remember seeing someone with the same eye color. It's very rare, you know." She said in a matter-of-factly tone.

Toushiro froze. If she remembered him as a dragon then he was doomed. He decided to end their conversation. He stood up and started to walk away. Sayuri, who thought she had offended him, scrambled to get up and followed him. She caught with him in a few seconds and she grabbed his arm to make him stop. When he did, he turned to look at her, a glare highlighting his features. No one _ever _touched him.

"I'm very sorry for offending you. I meant no harm. I'm just inquisitive by nature and very nosy. Please accept my apology." She said, letting go of his arm and bowing. He raised an eyebrow. Well that was unexpected. He sighed as she straightened herself. He nodded and continued to walk away. When he was a meter away, she called to him.

"Am I forgiven?" she asked.

He looked back at her and replied, "Yeah, sure. I've got to go now." He said and continued to walk. He didn't bother adding a 'see you later'. HE didn't think he would be able to see her again. After all, it was too dangerous to get attached to a human. He felt other wise though.

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So that's it! I hope you like it. This time, I made sure I was awake and alert when I did this. Ehehe… Thanks very much for reading! Chapter 2 may take a lot longer to update but please be patient with me. Again, thank you!


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